Configuring Advanced Wireless Settings

To configure advanced wireless settings on the Cisco RV180W:

  1. Choose Wireless > Advanced Settings.
  2. In the Beacon Interval field, enter the time in milliseconds between beacon transmissions. The default interval is 100 milliseconds.
  3. In the DTIM Interval field, enter the interval at which the delivery traffic indication message should be sent. A DTIM field is a countdown field informing clients of the next window for listening to broadcast and multicast messages. When the Cisco RV180W has buffered broadcast or multicast messages for associated clients, it sends the next DTIM with a DTIM Interval value. Its clients hear the beacons and awaken to receive the broadcast and multicast messages.The default interval is 2 beacon intervals.
  4. The Request to Send (RTS) Threshold is the packet size, in bytes, that requires the AP to check the transmitting frames to determine if an RTS/Clear to Send (CTS) handshake is required with the receiving client. Using a small value causes RTS packets to be sent more often, consuming more of the available bandwidth, reducing the apparent throughput of the network packets. The default value is 2346, which effectively disables RTS.
  5. The Fragmentation Threshold is the maximum length of the frame, in bytes, beyond which packets must be fragmented into two or more frames. Collisions occur more often for long frames because while sending them, they occupy the channel for a longer time. The default value is 2346, which effectively disables fragmentation. If you experience a high packet error rate, you can slightly increase the fragmentation threshold; setting the fragmentation threshold too low may result in poor network performance. Only minor reduction of the default value is recommended.
  6. Choose the Preamble Mode. The 802.11b standard requires that a preamble be appended to every frame before it is transmitted through the air. The preamble may be either the traditional “long” preamble, which requires 192 µs for transmission, or it may be an optional “short” preamble that requires only 96 µs. A long preamble is needed for compatibility with the legacy 802.11 systems operating at 1 and 2 Mbps. The default selection is long.
  7. Choose the Protection Mode. Select none (the default) to turn off CTS. The CTS- to-Self Protection option enables the CTS-to-Self protection mechanism, which is used to minimize collisions among stations in a mixed 802.11b and 802.11g environment. This function boosts the Cisco RV180W’s ability to catch all wireless transmissions but severely decreases performance.
  8. The Short Retry Limit and Long Retry Limit fields determine the number of times the Cisco RV180W will reattempt a frame transmission that fails. The limit applies to both long and short frames of a size less than or equal to the RTS threshold.
  9. The Multicast Rate is the rate, in megabits per second, that data is transmitted from the router to multiple endpoints on your network. If you are using applications that require multicasting (such as streaming content), changing the value from the default may improve performance for those applications.
  10. Click Save.